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Background <p>Despite the evidence supporting the importance of spiritual health to people’s wellbeing across diverse fields of treatment, the topic of spiritual health is not currently mentioned in National Health Service (NHS) training materials for social prescribers. Previous research with social prescribers has identified a need for training around spiritual health in primary care. This study sought in-depth understanding of these training needs and how they may be met.</p> Method <p>Semi-structured interview data specific to the subject of training needs were extracted from interview data from a wider study, which explored barriers and facilitators to spiritual health discussions within social prescribing. UK-based social prescribers aged 18 + working in primary care were recruited purposively from different geographic areas, with data collected between December and February of 2025. An inductive, iterative approach was taken to the thematic analysis of data.</p> Results <p>Findings were generated from interviews with 12 participants with three main themes: <i>the value and need for spiritual health training</i>, <i>approaches to training</i>, and <i>the value of learning from peers and patients</i>. However, while social prescribers interviewed broadly recognised the benefits that spiritual health training could bring to their work with patients, there were some who did not feel this was relevant to their role.</p> Conclusions <p>Participants identified how integrating spiritual health discussions into social prescribing improved not only patients’ health but also their own knowledge and skills. In-person training was widely felt to be appropriate for discussions around spiritual health. However, participants noted the limitations of one-off training sessions within this context, and highlighted the potential benefits of ongoing learning within the workplace. Peer learning appears to be a valuable and useful method of training for the topic of spiritual health, recognising social prescribers’ understanding of holistic health and focusing on the relevance of spiritual health to patients. Including the topic within NHS competency frameworks and training materials would also greatly support the relevance of spiritual health to social prescribing roles.</p>

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‘This is the core of what we do’: a qualitative study of social prescribers’ attitudes towards spiritual health training and their future training needs

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月6日

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  • Mark Adley,
  • Alexandra Thompson,
  • Philip Mordue,
  • Amy O’Donnell,
  • Barbara Hanratty,
  • Ishbel Orla Whitehead

摘要

Background

Despite the evidence supporting the importance of spiritual health to people’s wellbeing across diverse fields of treatment, the topic of spiritual health is not currently mentioned in National Health Service (NHS) training materials for social prescribers. Previous research with social prescribers has identified a need for training around spiritual health in primary care. This study sought in-depth understanding of these training needs and how they may be met.

Method

Semi-structured interview data specific to the subject of training needs were extracted from interview data from a wider study, which explored barriers and facilitators to spiritual health discussions within social prescribing. UK-based social prescribers aged 18 + working in primary care were recruited purposively from different geographic areas, with data collected between December and February of 2025. An inductive, iterative approach was taken to the thematic analysis of data.

Results

Findings were generated from interviews with 12 participants with three main themes: the value and need for spiritual health training, approaches to training, and the value of learning from peers and patients. However, while social prescribers interviewed broadly recognised the benefits that spiritual health training could bring to their work with patients, there were some who did not feel this was relevant to their role.

Conclusions

Participants identified how integrating spiritual health discussions into social prescribing improved not only patients’ health but also their own knowledge and skills. In-person training was widely felt to be appropriate for discussions around spiritual health. However, participants noted the limitations of one-off training sessions within this context, and highlighted the potential benefits of ongoing learning within the workplace. Peer learning appears to be a valuable and useful method of training for the topic of spiritual health, recognising social prescribers’ understanding of holistic health and focusing on the relevance of spiritual health to patients. Including the topic within NHS competency frameworks and training materials would also greatly support the relevance of spiritual health to social prescribing roles.